Images for Printing Postcards

Images are an integral part of postcard printing. They convey emotions. They help send a message without having to utilize words and are also very helpful as people find it easy to connect to them. To give your printed postcards a fighting chance, here are two options for you get great images.

Original Photography

Original photography is probably the best way to go. Don’t think of it as reinventing the wheel, but as a way to express your values or your thoughts on what needs to be conveyed. However, original photography is expensive and does require time. It is a project in itself, but postcard printing is too critical a job not to give it your all.
Yet, the technology in the digital cameras of today does most of the work for you. If you own a restaurant, you have the props already present, like your hall, your kitchen your entrance. You can shoot plenty of shots during the day or night and you just might hit one that is acceptable. Make sure to keep the resolution to the max so that it comes out clear during printing. A good picture can be edited using a photo editing software to give it a professional look.One pointer: when taking photographs, the photographers use a rule called the Rule of Thirds. This rule divides the viewfinder in a grid like tic-tac-toe; 2 lines running vertical and two lines running horizontal. This divides the screen in 9 squares. When you take a picture, make sure that the focus of the pictures remains along the lines or on their intersections. That’s it! You will find a world of difference before and after in your photography. And yes, the digital cameras have a grid option that turns on the grid making it easy for you shoot. An original image will give individuality to your postcard printing project making your printed postcard incredible.

Stock Pictures

If you are not into it and can’t find anyone around you who can take up the responsibility or it is too expensive for you to hire a photographer then the internet is a great place to look for stock pictures. Stock pictures are usually free; however, before using such images make sure the artist has allowed copying the pictures. If there is a charge, it won’t break your wallet. 55printing gives you the option to use Flickr.com and Picasa so that you get inexpensive postcard printing. It will be important to select an image for your postcard printing work that does not look like a stock photo!
Apart from these, you can also get images from other less well known sites that offer equally great images. iStockphoto.com is a great site that has an Illustration section as well. This is a royalty free site and the photographs and the illustrations are categorized by subject. This is time well spent.
Fotolia.com is another very good site to choose images from. It boasts over 22 million royalty free images. It has a section on logos as well. Which will probably be helpful if you are starting a new business or don’t like your old one!